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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I’m genuinely trying to be open to examining my beliefs and hearing from those with alternate opinions, but I don’t think this book was a great choice for that purpose.
There are a lot of factual errors in the narrative that unfortunately, for me, invalidate the book’s points because I don’t consider the author trustworthy.
Look no further than reviews in the Guardian and the New York Times for details of the mistakes within, not to mention publications like the journal of Critical Research on Religion.
Next time I’ll do some more research before I look for books to help me critically examine my faith.
There are a lot of factual errors in the narrative that unfortunately, for me, invalidate the book’s points because I don’t consider the author trustworthy.
Look no further than reviews in the Guardian and the New York Times for details of the mistakes within, not to mention publications like the journal of Critical Research on Religion.
Next time I’ll do some more research before I look for books to help me critically examine my faith.
I really enjoyed this book. I liked learning about the historical Jesus. I thought the author told a very good story about who the historical Jesus was vs. the biblical one. He also explained some of how the biblical one is the one we know. If you are a "the Bible is the absolute truth" person, you might not want to read this. If you do, you will want to remember that all scripture is from God and that's why we have the books in the Bible that are there and not some others.
Extremely compelling and fascinating. I enjoyed reading this quite a bit.
for some reason I thought there’d be more info about the actual historical Jesus, even though i recognize we know very little about him. it was interesting to read how Jesus probably viewed himself and what he preached, vs the way the gospels wrote about him and what modern day Christianity preaches
What, that's it? The trouble of reading on kindle is that it's difficult to know where the book itself ends and the notes take over. I'm not usually one to read notes and today will be no exception. So the book ended a lot sooner than I had expected and I feel a little bit cheated. I would have liked more.
This book does an excellent job of separating Jesus the Nazarean from Jesus the Christ. It's sets Jesus the Nazarean in a historical context I was only vaguely aware of. It also explains the hows and whys of Jesus Christ as presented in the New Testament. I am sure this distinction would be blashphemous to some, but the dicthomy is quite fascinating and the historical Jesus no less interesting than Christ.
This was a very good read about well - the most influential person of the past couple of millenia. Definitely worth reading, regardless of your religious inclinations. Although I do realize that people belonging to more extreme factions of Christianity might find the content hard to swallow.
This book does an excellent job of separating Jesus the Nazarean from Jesus the Christ. It's sets Jesus the Nazarean in a historical context I was only vaguely aware of. It also explains the hows and whys of Jesus Christ as presented in the New Testament. I am sure this distinction would be blashphemous to some, but the dicthomy is quite fascinating and the historical Jesus no less interesting than Christ.
This was a very good read about well - the most influential person of the past couple of millenia. Definitely worth reading, regardless of your religious inclinations. Although I do realize that people belonging to more extreme factions of Christianity might find the content hard to swallow.
DNF at about 39%
At the very beginning of this book, Reza Aslan states that there is practically nothing recorded about the historical Jesus, and that Christians basically have an agenda.
He then spends an entire book pushing his own agenda about Jesus of Galilee.
I found the information presented interesting but suspect.
At the very beginning of this book, Reza Aslan states that there is practically nothing recorded about the historical Jesus, and that Christians basically have an agenda.
He then spends an entire book pushing his own agenda about Jesus of Galilee.
I found the information presented interesting but suspect.
Fascinating, Growing up in the church, you know the stories of Jesus the Christ, but to learn about Jesus the human and the context he lived in was fascinating. It makes me appreciate the man and the messiah even more.
Finished this book yesterday. I've seen Reza Aslan speak and he is AMAZING -- energetic, humorous, self-effacing, no notes, and insightful as hell. I've also seen him speak on Fox News and he crushed it. So I was a bit let down by the actual book itself.
For one thing (and I hate being this reductive and basic), it runs out of momentum and becomes a very dry read very quickly. I am a history buff, but I think it was my factoid-thirst that pushed me through to the end. I don't think I would have gotten through this book without my nerdness.
Another thing: the format is strange. It reads as a smooth story and narrative, but all the research notes are in the back, which most of the time I am grateful for (wading through every single footnote and acknowledgment as I go? Ain't nobody got time for that!). But taking all of them out was a strange move for something so heavily researched; I would appreciate seeing where these sources are coming from, to cross reference publication dates, authors, etc. You know, nerd stuff.
So all in all, this was a bit of a hate read by the end -- not because it was bad, but because I was just not really hooked. I kind of had to bully my brain into finishing the text. Still a HUGE Aslan fan, just not of this particular book.
For one thing (and I hate being this reductive and basic), it runs out of momentum and becomes a very dry read very quickly. I am a history buff, but I think it was my factoid-thirst that pushed me through to the end. I don't think I would have gotten through this book without my nerdness.
Another thing: the format is strange. It reads as a smooth story and narrative, but all the research notes are in the back, which most of the time I am grateful for (wading through every single footnote and acknowledgment as I go? Ain't nobody got time for that!). But taking all of them out was a strange move for something so heavily researched; I would appreciate seeing where these sources are coming from, to cross reference publication dates, authors, etc. You know, nerd stuff.
So all in all, this was a bit of a hate read by the end -- not because it was bad, but because I was just not really hooked. I kind of had to bully my brain into finishing the text. Still a HUGE Aslan fan, just not of this particular book.
I'd like to say this was not as good as "No God but God", however it was just as good and as clear. It stripped away the rose coloured glasses of the modern day and showed how a poor illiterate Jew from Nazareth became this huge idea of a Messiah that was so powerful that the Roman's bought into it. Really, it just showed what is already known, the Jewish Cult is really in it for themselves. The part where Jesus is healing people and wants to heal only the Jews first and not the Gentiles is kind of mind blowing; even with the prior historical background explained about how the Jews went and slaughtered everyone who lived in Palestine.
Somethings just don't change. :(
Yet another example of humans ruining religion.
Mr. Aslan tackles a lot of touchy things in this but presents them in the best possible way which must be commended.
Somethings just don't change. :(
Yet another example of humans ruining religion.
Mr. Aslan tackles a lot of touchy things in this but presents them in the best possible way which must be commended.
I found the discussion of the theological split between James and Paul more interesting than trying to recapture the historical Jesus and recast him as a revolutionary.